Dear TD with Love
by song six
Summary: A series of romance oneshots revolved around Tim based on real letters to real crushes from the website letterstocrushes. Each letter is attached to the end of every story.


**A Toast to True Love**

The fact Tim and Conner are in love is something everyone and their Grandma knows. But when they fell in love, and how, is the real question.

**By Song Six**

* * *

When did Tim and Conner fall in love? That's a good question.

They were only fifteen when they first met.

Actually, Tim was fifteen. Kon was born fifteen. Otherwise, he was no older than a year at the time.

It started out with Robin being left alone to deal with a meta level villain he couldn't take on by himself. Hey, as long as it wasn't Joker and there weren't any crow bars laying around Batman was alright with it. Unfortunately, this wasn't one of your typical psychopath villains that dwelled in the murky undergrounds of Gotham. No, this was one of those crazy stupidly big and seemingly indestructible villains from bright and sunny Metropolis. He needed help. Superman type of help. Well, Superman was busy, so he had to settle with the next best thing: Super_boy_.

Of course, the big lug and his freaking _agent_, what kind of superhero had that? Right, Booster Gold. Anyways, Kon and his agent were too busy pulling publicity stunts and partying it up with exotic women to listen to Robin's call. Of course, Tim was nothing like the first Robin. No way! The first one may have been a total delight and a happy go lucky kid, but Tim played dirty. He was a pretty upbeat guy too, but he was smart about things. He knew how to get under people's skin with more than just clever remarks – he used blackmail. It wasn't immoral, it was tactics. You couldn't play Risk without getting your hands dirty, and you certainly couldn't use the toilet without anything getting dirty either. That didn't mean it was wrong, it was a part of life – especially the toilet. Even if he was hard to take seriously while he ran around in a bright red leotard over a green body suit the boy was scary. But hey, if there's anything people have learned that was to never judge a book by its cover. Although, somehow people always found themselves completely seduced, captured, and intoxicated, in a literal sense mind you, by Poison Ivy. It's like picking out a copy of Twilight and assuming it'd be an awesome read because it looked pretty. Although, it was never understood how these people connected long legs, juicy lips, and luscious red hair to being someone they could instantly trust not to hurt them. Then again, they probably connected these image to an awesome la–read, and awesome _read_ rather than a trustworthy person; nonetheless, for Kory, Babs, and Roy it was the latter.

However, that's a different story.

Anyways, Tim threatened to reroute all the Superboy merchandise they had coming in to some God forsaken forest. So Superboy had to give in and help. A captured Robin and a break in sound barrier later, Superboy came to Tim's rescue and captured him in his arms. To be honest, it didn't really seem to mean anything since they just met. Especially in the most non casual way too. But together they fought using Superboy's brute strength and Robin's smarts to take down Metallo. They made a good team from the way they balanced each out, even if Superboy thought the Boy Wonder was a wuss and Robin found the meta to be a goof. But then, Poison Ivy showed up and Superboy figured he was going to read a good book that night! Luckily Robin cranked out the kryptonite ring and followed them to Hawaii.

But that's a different story.

That's what happened after, and that's how they became friends.

Eventually, this friendship lead to something deeper, and more powerful than any other love on this earth.

A bromance.

Okay, so it's not the 'most powerful love' to exist, but it was close. Together, with their other best buddy Impulse, they formed the team Young Justice and started to fight crime all together as best friends, and a couple chicks. It was a pretty sweet deal. Being best bros, hanging out in their own clubhouse cave place, having a cool mentor like Red Tornado, eating pizza, and beating in bad guy face! They got to see each other and use crime fighting as an excuse to their superiors if ever asked. Their villains were either hilarious and fun to pummel. Kon got to bug the crap out of Tim every day, and the Boy Wonder got to enjoy it. What could be better?

Well, surely, but slowly, they started to grow up.

Kon started to realize how annoying it was to know _nothing_ about his best friend. Well, nothing important anyways.

Tim started to realize how hard it was to keep a secret identity from the people he cared about. Yes, his parents too.

Eventually, Tim started to learn to trust his team. Not with his real name, but enough to take off his mask.

Kon never really looked at him the same once he saw he had blue eyes.

Then one day, Young Justice and Titans did a team up against a Superman android gone wrong. Things started to get serious. People started to really get hurt. Donna died. The team disbanded.

It wasn't a kid's game anymore. It was time to face the harsh cruel reality that the world was changing, and so were the rules of humanity. Even the most petty thug on the street wasn't opposed to killing a child, and every villain always armed. Tim started to grow a little darker than his usual optimistic self. He started to feel the strain in his relationship with his parents and frustrations of being an un-powered hero. He also started to see the difficulties with following the rules of Batman, doing what's right, and doing what's necessary. Superboy got a new name, Conner Kent. It was so that he could attempt to have a normal life like Kal-El had growing up in Smallville. It was so that Clark could feel like he was helping. It's not that he didn't care, because he cared a lot. He wanted to do whatever he could do to support Superboy. He just wasn't sure what he himself could do to help the boy. But than he came up with an idea.

Alright, it wasn't just Clark's idea. Batman was in on it, and so was Starfire. The Flash was too, but he was a bit skeptical at first. But in the end they all knew what the kids needed.

They placed Superboy, Robin, Wonder Girl, and Impulse into the Teen Titans. It was really awkward at first. They behaved coldly towards one another like strangers on a bus. Impulse was the only one who seemed to think it was a good idea. He was also the only one acting like it was a reunion between best friends. Cassie shoved him away when he tried to hug her, Tim basically told him to bug off, and Conner didn't say much. They all thought their mentors were out of their minds. It just wasn't a kid's game anymore. They were going to be fighting, not playing.

It was the first time Conner and Tim talked since what had happened.

Actually, at first they didn't even meet eyes. They were too busy pretending they didn't want to be there. Pretending they didn't like the idea. Pretending it was all a big mistake. The scary part was the fact they weren't actually pretending. Although, Conner was kind of hoping Robin would come up to him, saying something witty or smart. Maybe even smile at him a little, and make it O.K. to want to be there. But when all Robin did was stalk in the shadows and say little to nothing, not even to him, all he wanted to do was go home. He never felt more miserable in his life. He wasn't even the least perturbed when his former girlfriend didn't even blush or bat an eyelash at him. If his best friend wasn't excited to see him, that was what made him feel alone.

But if Conner was going to go there every weekend like it was fucking boy scouts, by god, he needed a reason to want to come. He hated the feeling of burning knots in his stomach. He hated the itch to punch out all the walls and fly away. He despised feeling like an intruder in a cold metal tower. So if Robin wasn't going to say anything, than he certainly was going to. It was actually three in the morning when he confronted Robin. There were a lot of things on his mind, and he even spent the whole day pacing around trying to find a good time to talk to him when he knew no one would be listening. No Beast Boy buzzing around thinking he was clever, or Cyborg on the security system. Just him and Rob. He knew he'd find Tim up and typing away on his little computer. It was such a Tim thing to do. However, despite spending the day thinking he did n't know how to talk to him. He was never the best with feelings. That's why him and Cassie got in as many fights as they did. What he really wanted to say to the guy was: "Hey, what the fuck dude? I'm your best friend and you don't even say 'hi'?" But instead he started with…

"Did Batman teach you not to sleep?" There was a slight tilt in the edges of Tim's lips before they went back into a firm line. The air of familiarity started to fill the room, and the tense thickness dissipated. The knot in his stomach disappeared, and Conner felt relieved just to hear his own voice greet his best friend. As they got to talking, more and more, it was like a clearing storm and he could relax. He could almost believe nothing changed, and they could act like the silly kids they were back in Young Justice all over again. But something better even happened. He even felt the shift in their dynamic, and as lame as it sounded, it kind of warmed his heart knowing what it meant. They weren't straight forward with their thoughts, but they skipped around the topic. But in a mutual agreement spoken in more words than needed without every actually saying it, for the first time they said…

"I missed you."

Tim's had friends before, and so has Conner. But Tim's never had someone that wasn't family, the bat one included, care about him. Conner, he's never had anyone care about him enough to miss him. It was nice and refreshing. Here was someone who cared about them, and someone they could indulge anything with when they needed to because they would never judge, criticize, or smother. They would act as best friends who would support each and believe in each other no matter what.

Which was a good thing to have now they had a new boat load of troubles coming their way. They discovered half of Conner's DNA came from Lex Luthor. Tim's parents started cracking down on him. Superman started intruding on Conner's personal life more. Tim's parents started sending him to boarding schools. Conner's high school peers started to suspect. Tim's parents got kidnapped. Conner and Cassie started fighting more as he continued to keep secrets. Tim's mom died. Conner's identity almost became compromised too many times. Tim's dad became overbearing. Conner started to understand the stress of being super powered and wanting to be normal. Tim started to feel the pressure and started to really know the stress between his life as a vigilante and as a son.

Tim's dad threatened Batman to take the mantle of Robin away. Tim quit being Robin.

Conner didn't really understand what happened. Conner didn't like _that girl_ wearing Tim's costume.

Nothing was going right.

But it was alright as long as they had each other. Truthfully, it really was. Even when Tim lost Stephanie after trying so hard to steer her away from a dangerous life of a hero, he still had Conner. Even when his father died after wasting so much time fighting him trying to be a good son, he still had Conner. Even when struggling with Bruce after dealing with the fact it was the life as Robin that took his loved ones away, he still had Conner. Even when Superboy broke his arm and lost control, he didn't mind as long as he still had _him_.

But the worst actually happened.

All he could recall that day was running and screaming. He couldn't even feel his legs with every shove of his feet into the ground. He almost felt like he was flying as he shoved his body forward, closer and closer. He didn't notice the scratches on his body, the tears in his flesh, or the cuts into body. But will always, _always_, recall the awful rip in his chest when he saw the boy lie still in his blood. He screamed, and he cried. But it was that scream of his own voice that will ring in his ears forever. He never even got to say good bye. He was just _seconds_ too late.

So Tim inevitably felt like he had…nothing.

If Stephanie and his father dying hadn't sent him over the edge, this had.

It was the longest two years of his life. Tim. Had. Nothing.

At first, he tried acting like the optimistic upbeat leader of the Teen Titans. Then Cassie caught him in a lie as he cried and wailed as he failed his own personal mission for the umpteenth time.

He tried to bring Conner back just so he could have something, but in the end it was always…always…

Nothing.

He grew colder, and more calculated. He was losing faith, and struggling to see anything past what was right in front of him.

His mind was like a blur, trying to block out any thought but getting the mission done.

He gave up trying to pretend it could all still be just a game.

It's not a kid's game.

He didn't even have Robin anymore after he lost Bruce and Dick took his costume away.

He didn't have anyone to support him or back him.

No one believed he'd find Bruce.

No one believed in him.

There was nothing.

Tim spent his days riding around on his motorcycle across the world searching for Bruce Wayne. He went out under a new name: Red Robin.

Every day dragged on.

Every clue lead to another.

It was a chase that felt never ending.

He gave up hope.

The only thing pushing him was the fact he had nothing.

But one night in Paris, as he rode on his motorcycle, beneath the sound of the revving engine and rushing cars he heard _it_.

There was a break in the sound barrier.

But Tim was stubborn. He wasn't going to risk fooling himself to believe it was all going to be O.K. again. He'd been through that already when he tried to re-clone the boy. He remembered the suffocating pain that came with knowing it was an impossible dream to grasp. So he rode on and focused on the mission. He allowed himself to receive assistance, but he resisted any urge in the back of his mind that told him to enjoy life. He wasn't ready to accept a reality that could be a happy one. He forgot how that felt.

Then something happened – something that got the gears in his mind whirring, and got his heart beating again. It was like the beginnings of coming back to life. For so long he had felt so numb, and everything was grey. But bursts of color slowly started to return, only better and more vivid. A warmth enraptured his body, and it hit him so hard he couldn't stop shivering. There was a choke in his throat, but it felt good. He almost cried. For the first time in seven hundred and fifty something long nights he heard the words he's been waiting and begging to hear from the voice he was longing to feel vibrate against his ears…

"I believe you."

They hadn't even seen each other for two whole years.

Then one day he was standing on a roof top and there he was. This goofy looking guy who looked steroid bound floating against the white moon. A man who been like a brother to Tim for so many years. He looked at Tim, and Tim looked at him. He floated up towards him, and without missing a beat Tim pulled him into an embrace like it was the most natural thing in the world.

That was three years ago, and today Tim walked down that aisle towards Conner.

So when did they fall in love? Honestly, probably when they first met. They just didn't figure it out yet.

Let's toast to my little Brother Timmy, and his new husband Conner. I couldn't be more inspired to have hope that there is true love like theirs.

* * *

**Based off of:**

You were my best friend in kindergarten. The only way to separate us was by putting the class in alphabetical order.

We slowly grew up. You realized I was a girl. I realized you were a boy.

We started high school. You never really looked at me the same once I grew boobs.

At Graduation, we boycotted the alphabetical seating orders, and held hands the entire time.

Then you went to Macquarie, I went to Sydney and we drifted apart.

We didn't see each other for nearly 2 years.

Then one day I went into a book shop. and there you were, this tall handsome man, who had been like my brother for so many years. You looked at me, and I looked at you. You walked up to me, and without missing a beat you kissed me like it was the most natural thing in the world.

That was 3 years ago, and tomorrow I will walk down the aisle towards you.

Keep hope girls 3 your man is there somewhere, he may even be right under your nose ;)  
xxx


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